Pure Happiness
by Pure Sunshine
Summary: Draco Malfoy's determined to best Hermione Granger in all their classes in their final year at Hogwarts. However, when he starts spending time with her to manipulate her grades, he finds more to her than what everyone can see. Funny fic! Please read!
1. Plots, Death, and a Surprise

                                                                         Pure Happiness

                                                                             Chapter 1-

_                                                              Plots, Death, and a Surprise_

                                                                               * * *

            A pale boy with a pointed face stepped onto Platform 9 ¾. It was his last year at the infamous Hogwarts, and he was planning on making it memorable. Every other year had been so… monotonous. The Boy-Who-Should've-Died was always getting praised for _his_ accomplishments, and he was always shoved aside, looking extremely evil next to his "goody-goody"-ness. The boy scoffed at the thought of him. How he _hated_ Harry Potter and his sidekick losers. They were so… gallant. It was irritating; they were all royal pricks in his arse. The boy started when he heard a cold- colder than his own- behind him.

            "Now, now Draco," drawled Lucius Malfoy, the pasty boy's father. The boy- Draco- turned slowly around to face his father. "I know it's your last year at this wretched school, and I want you to make me proud. This_ will_ be the year that you top the filthy little Mudblood." Draco winced. That would be way too difficult of a task to complete.

            "But Father…," he started to whine. 

            "Not buts, Draco. I know that she _is_ top of the class, and it'll be quite difficult for anyone to match or top her- ah- _intelligence_," Lucius said dryly. "But you, as a _Malfoy,_ are not just anyone. I want you to top her, son. Make me- an old man- proud. I daresay that you'll find an honor awaiting you at the end of term." Draco smirked- he knew what the award was. The initiation to become a Death Eater. 

            "Yes, Father. I look forward to that day quite a bit," Draco said, still smirking with pride. His father threw his cane up in the air a bit, not higher than a foot, of course, and caught it again.

            "Excellent, Draco. I'll inform your mother immediately," Lucius replied. He turned swiftly around, walked to the brick wall that entered into the Muggle world, and called over to Draco. "Draco, I am expecting you to do _all_ in your power to be on top this year. Good day, son." Draco nodded and his father turned to the brick wall and went through with his robes billowing behind him. 

            Draco turned to face the scarlet train with a certain air of cockiness. He had been given an assignment from his father to outwit the disgusting Mudblood in his classes. He'd complete it, of course. Even if it _was _nearly impossible. _Nothing_ could stop him, though, when his father was involved. Chuckling softly to himself with malice, he bent down and picked up the handle of his cart. This year was going to be quite interesting- he was sure of it.

                                                                                * * *

            One hour later, Draco Malfoy was in a cramped compartment with his so-called "mates". They were not acting like the kids from other houses… they were not playing Exploding Snap, or gossiping or any pish-posh like that. They were _Slytherins_, and they had a reputation to uphold. Therefore it was quite silent in the large niche until Pansy Parkinson said, quite bluntly,

            "This year is going to be the worst we've had yet." Crabbe looked up from his Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and nodded stupidly. Draco, who was looking out the window and onto the Scottish terrain, sighed.

            "I don't know, Parkinson, we might _finally_ get our revenge on Dumbledore's dorky trio," he drawled. Goyle, who was sitting to Draco's left, grunted, which everyone took as an agreement. Pansy stood up and walked over to the window, looking out, too.

            "We _should_ get them, shouldn't we?" she asked thoughtfully. "We should do something truly horrible that would scar them against Hogwarts for the rest of their lives!" There was an outburst of disagreements. 

            "Like what? Put Izzy's Itching Powder in their knickers? Have suits of armor trip them and call them names? That child's play," scoffed Theodore Nott. Theodore was a tall, weedy boy who looked as if someone was going to attack him at a moment's notice. "Well, it is! In fact, I think it would _damage_ our reputations. We can't have people thinking we're weak little children who like to play pranks on one another." The compartment door opened, and Blaise Zambini strutted in holding his girlfriend, Millicent Bullstrode, around her waist.

            "I heard what you were saying. And I agree with Nott. They'll be _expecting_ things like that, what with the war drawing ever nearer. We should pull something on all of the loser Gryffindors, not just the Golden Trio," he laughed.  

            "I'll do anything, as long as I get that Mudblood Hermione Granger," Pansy said with malice. She remembered Hermione's taunts and she clenched her fists into balls of fury. Draco's ears perked up at the sound of the… _beaver_'s name. He had been sitting in the corner inspecting his nails carefully, but he turned to face everyone quickly. 

            "No!" he savagely yelled. He looked down, his cheeks turning their usual pink, and he felt uncomfortable with all of their cold eyes on him. He stuttered out an answer to their questioning looks. "I mean, I'll take care of that… that… Mudblood. My father wants me to best her this year in our studies, and I intend to make him _quite_ proud before the ceremony." Smirking, he looked up and saw the Slytherins settling back into their seats, reassured by his "comforting" words. Of course, they too knew about the ceremony. Their parents had already informed them of what was to come when term ended. 

            "Good, Malfoy. Then, if there aren't any complaints, let's start planning…," squealed Pansy.

                                                                             * * *

            Hermione Granger stepped off of the Hogwart's Express and tucked a loose strand of her bushy hair behind her ear. She turned to Ginny Weasley, one of her closest acquaintances, and smiled nervously. Hermione kept on biting her lip and tugging her ear out of nervousness- which annoyed Ginny to a great extent.

            "Hermione! Will you not calm down? You're making _me _nervous by being so jumpy!" Ginny said in frustration. Hermione stopped and gave her best girl friend a tight hug. "Can't…. Breathe…!" Hermione let go, laughing and turned to find a grinning Ron and a muddy Harry. Hermione's hands flew to her mouth and 

            "Harry! My goodness… what happened?" she asked, hugging the two of them. She lingered for an extra second on Ron, who'd finally stopped growing- but was still as tall and lanky as always. Harry wiped some mud off of his face and took off his glasses.

            "Hermione… will you do the honours?" he grinned. She rolled her eyes, and snatched his glasses out of his hands. 

            "If I must…. _Occulus Reparo!_" she chanted. Then, seeing as they were still covered in mud, she muttered "_Scourgify!_" and handed them back to Harry. 

            "I'll never forget that first day on the Hogwarts Express," Ron said, digging his hands into his shabby robes' pockets. "Hermione- you were such a bossy little…."

            "-Ron, if I were you I worldn't finish that sentence!" laughed Harry. "Do you remember? You had dirt on your nose! Just there!" Harry poked Ron on his nose, mimicking Hermione. Hermione herself pouted and crossed her arms. Ron, seeing this, came over with open arms. Contrary to what everyone else thought-  which was that he would hug her- he put his arm over her shoulder, pulled her down to his belly button, and gave her a "noogie". 

            "Ronald Weasley! You stop that RIGHT this instant!" Ginny shrieked, sounding quite like her mother Molly. When Ron kept going, Ginny yelled, "If you do **not** stop this instant, I'm afraid mom might have to find out about what happened in the beginning of the summer…!" Ron snapped to a rigid shape and Hermione, quite breathless, inquired,

            "What did you do last summer, Ron?" By the time the end of the sentence was complete, his ears were tinged crimson at the tips, and he was mumbling to himself. "_Ron! Tell me!_"

            "Er… nothing, Hermione… nothing at all…." he trailed off. Harry grinned and poked Ron in the ribs with his elbow. "Harry- quit it… you know what Hermione would do if she found out about…."

            "About what?" Hermione yelled, exasperated. Ron, bright red, said nothing, and Hermione asked, "Harry, what _did_ happen earlier? When you were all muddy…!" Harry cleared his throat and shot a nasty look up at the aphotic castle. 

            "It was Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. They cornered me after I stepped off of the train and tried to go and push me into the lake. Unfortunately, there was mud everywhere, and I got my new robes ruined. Merlin, I _despise_ Slytherins. They're all nasty and vile and have no feeling…."

            "Aw, Potter, we're not _that_ bad," an arrogant sounding voice came from behind them. They all whipped around to find Draco Malfoy and his two meathead cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. Hermione groaned and put her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose in frustration. 

            "Why don't you do us all a favor, go find a nice corner, and curl up and _die_, Malfoy," she said crossly. Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles menacingly, but Draco put his arms out in front of them to prevent them from "attacking". Draco took a step over to Hermione, and she backed away.

            "Granger, to your displeasure, I can't… I'm Head Boy this year, so I have too many responsibilities to just "_die_"…." he whispered. Hermione's hands flew to her mouth again, and she whispered, 

            "No… you can't be Head Boy… you just can't!" Draco smirked and started to walk off.

            "See you around, Mudblood… and watch your back…." he laughed. Crabbe and Goyle followed him, chuckling softly to themselves.

                                                                          * * *

            "Oh, Harry… Ron, he can't be Head Boy… I just couldn't spend an entire year with that Ferret!" Hermione complained. She put her head on Ron's shoulder and her arms around him. Ron looked at Harry, not knowing what to do. Harry shrugged and reached for a leg of scrumptious looking chicken that had appeared on the long wooden Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Ron looked at Hermione's bushy head, and very awkwardly patted her on the back. Ginny, sitting across from the three, scowled at Ron's clueless-ness. 

            "Men…" she muttered. Hermione turned back to the table, her eyes unusually sullen and empty. "Hermione," Ginny said. "Just because Malfoy is Head Boy- and I'm assuming you're Head Girl- doesn't mean that this year's going to be worse than usual. In fact, you yourself can make _his_ year miserable… what, with your wit and skills? You could turn his hair permanently pink for the rest of the year!" Hermione smiled sadly at Ginny, as if that suggestion was actually worth thinking about.

            "Maybe you're right, Gin', but still… he'll probably try to do things to interfere with my studies! And this is our N.E.W.T. year, too!" she said angrily. "I swear, if he does _anything_ to interfere with my grades to get an excellent job, he'll wish he was never even born."

            "And we'll make sure of that, too," Ron said, swallowing his food. Harry nodded in agreement, his mouth full of corn and potatoes. 

            "_Ahem_… I'd like to have your attention, please! Attention, students!" Professor Dumbledore boomed. When the Great Hall quieted down, Dumbledore smiled at them, and continued on. "Thank you so very much. I have a few beginning-of-term announcements to make, first. Mr. Filch continues to remind me that throwing Dungbombs and Fizzing Whizbees is _not_ tolerated in the hallway. Anyone caught doing so shall be punished severely." Several students grinned toothily at the headmaster, as if saying 'Go on, go on… you tell such amusing stories….'

            "Also, as usual, the Forbidden Forest is off limits, and anyone found sneaking into the wonderful Hogsmeade shall be expelled immediately. And yes, Mr. Finch-Fletchley, the rules will be strictly enforced," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling their familiar gleam. "I see that you all enjoyed the feast… our house elves bore much fruit and outdid themselves this year." Hermione sniffed at this remark and pushed her plate away from herself as if it made her sick. 

            "Finally, this year will be quite special for our very own school. No, we're not having another Triwizard Tournament, but we are having something quite special. I shall not be telling you about the event quite yet, as we are closing the deal on it, and… er… we want you all to be surprised!" With that, Dumbledore took a long sip from his goblet as the students buzzed noisily, chattering about the upcoming surprise. Dumbledore sat back down and folded his hands over his lap. 

            He sighed contentedly, thinking, 'This year is going to be a huge surprise for them all….'

                                                                           * * *

                                      Is it alright? Please review and tell me what you think…. Thanks so much!


	2. Disgusting Ferrets

                                                            Pure Happiness

                                                               Chapter 2-

                                                         _Disgusting Ferrets_

                                                                   * * *

            Back in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione plopped down into a nearby squishy armchair and closed her eyes in frustration. She kept thinking about the fact that her archenemy- with the exception of Lord Voldemort being her overall enemy- was Head Boy. To her, it was an outrage; he was a disgrace to the very _job_ that was awarded to him.

            'How could Professor Dumbledore have been so… well, _stupid_?' was the main thought racing through her complex mind. 'Well, I can't say that he hasn't done anything to deserve this, because he _is_ top in all of his classes, as much as I hate to admit it. But he's so _mean_! He's got the personality of a troll!' She leaned over to the couch adjacent to her and snatched a golden pillow away from it. She put it to her face and screamed into it with all the passion of hate that she could. When she lifted her head off of the pillow, she saw a grinning Seamus staring at her.

            "Need to talk?" he inquired. Hermione sighed deeply and put the pillow on her lap. Seamus walked over to the scarlet couch and plopped down on it.

            "Well… I don't know," she said. Seamus feigned being hurt by putting his hand over his heart and making a sad face. "No, no, Seamus, it's not that I don't trust you or anything… it's just I don't know if I want to really talk about it yet…."

            "Well, if you ever need a shoulder to cry on…," he remarked, standing up and starting for the staircase that led to the boy's dormitories. 

            "I'll be sure to find Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, snorting. She knew it was a corny joke and all, but only because Seamus rolled his eyes and raced upstairs. Hermione had to admit that she was a bit puzzled as to why Seamus started caring about her problems. Tired and fatigued, Hermione shrugged it off and went off to bed.

                                                                        * * *

            Draco Malfoy was amused. The year had hardly begun and everything was already working out quite smoothly to his advantage. Goody-Goody Granger was clearly upset as to the fact that he had obtained the position of Head Boy, and Scarhead, as he was so affectionately called, had been almost pushed into the lake. 

            Of course, there was still the Slytherin plan to get _all_ of the Gryffindor losers. Pansy, Blaise, and Theo Nott were still laying the idea out. But the three of them, he had to admit, _were_ very good at blackmailing, backstabbing, and generally being Slytherin. A different fellow Slytherin was worried that the Gryffindors would find out about the plan and make a plot against them, too. However, Draco scoffed at the chance of that occurring. They were too… ah… _noble_ to sink that low.

            Entering the Great Hall for breakfast, Draco smirked at everyone he passed by…. That was, of course, with the exception of those who looked too happy, of whom he scowled angrily at. When he opened the huge doors to enter the Hall, a giant wave of chatter hit him hard. He stepped back, unsure why there was an excess amount of talking going on. He shook his head and strutted over to the Slytherin table. He sat down next to Pansy Parkinson, and she shrieked with glee. Draco knew Pansy fancied him… yet they still acted just as friends. Draco grabbed a particularly juicy looking apple and leaned over to Pansy.

            "Is the plan complete yet?" he hissed. He ran a hand over his sleek platinum hair and bit the apple quite noisily. 

            "Not quite. But it should be ready soon…!" she replied, eyes glittering. Draco sat upright once again and smiled- and smiling for him was rare- to himself. He looked over at the Gryffindor table. They were so _pathetic_. It was all he could do to not strangle them all with his bare hands. He spotted the Golden Trio… yet today they looked different than usual. Harry and Ron were throwing food at each other, but Hermione sat leaned on the table, hands supporting her chin, eyes unfocused. 

            Up at the Teacher's table, Professor Dumbledore stood up and clinked a knife against his goblet. "Students!" he boomed across the Hall. The chatter died down and Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Thank you. I hate to interrupt your breakfast, but I must announce that everyone _must_ be present tonight at dinner… especially the seventh years. This is because the school has closed the deal on our… _ahem_… surprise. Have a good first day back, everyone…." He sat back down and turned to Professor McGonagall, and they immediately started discussing the pros and cons of using magic for discipline.

            Back at the Slytherin table, Draco turned to Blaise Zambini. "Oy… Blaise! What do you think the _surprise_ is?" Blaise pushed his dark auburn hair out of his deep blue eyes and sent Draco a skeptical look.

            "Please, Malfoy. It's probably just some dumb contest thing like the Triwizard Tournament," he said, full of doubt. Goyle, who had been stuffing a ridiculous amount of pancakes in his mouth, looked confused.

            "But that was thing was cool!" he mumbled. Blaise rolled his eyes and left the table. Draco was still curious, though. What on earth could that surprise _be_?

                                                                        * * *

            The seventh year Gryffindors' first class that day was Divination. Hermione, of course, had dropped that "pointless" class and had Arithmancy instead. When she entered the empty classroom, she sat in the very front row, in the middle seat. She reached into her bag and pulled out a perfectly sharpened quill and her book. She lay them down neatly on the desk, and enlaced her fingers on the desk, ready for class. 

            Draco entered the Arithmancy classroom, and to his utter disgust, found Hermione all set and ready in the front row. He scoffed at her… _perfectness_, and slouched to a seat in the very back of the room. There, he flung his bag on the ground and slumped far down in his hard wooden chair. Extremely bored already, he watched and analyzed Hermione in the front row. 

            'Hmm,' he thought. 'She looks almost exactly the same every single _bloody_ year. You'd think she'd actually _do_ something about her frizzy hair. It's _so_ unattractive… Viktor Krum must've been on drugs to have taken her to the Yule Ball.' Yet when he thought that, he remembered back to that very day.

_                                                                        Flashback_

            Draco was in his dormitory, gelling his hair to perfection. When he was satisfied, he pulled on his expensive black dress robes with the high collar. When he thought he looked alright, he strutted down the stairs to find Pansy Parkinson waiting for him by the Portrait hole. When she spotted him, she hurried over to him, clutching a camera similar to Colin Creevey's.

            "Good evening, Pansy. You look… er… quite nice tonight," Draco said hesitantly. Of course, it wasn't his choice to bring Pansy as a date. It was their father's idea. They would've _loved_ to have a nice Pureblood marriage between the two. Pansy and he were just friends, and they had decided last year (third year) to stay that way. Yet Draco thought it was appropriate to comment on her wardrobe.

            "Right, Draco…" she giggled. "Listen, if we wish to convince our parents that we were having a great night together, let's owl them a picture of us… SMILING." Draco scowled while Pansy grabbed Blaise. "Blaise, be a dear and take a photograph of us," she said. Blaise smirked at Draco and took quite a few pictures of the two. Draco remained the same in all of the pictures, smiling forcedly. Pansy, however, posed in each one. There was one where she looked like she was laughing at one of Draco's jokes, one gazing at him, one applying lipstick… it was all one big _photo shoot_.

            When Blaise was finally done taking the mickey out of Draco, they all set out for the Great Hall. Pansy grabbed Draco's arm and led them over to a table with smoking punch. It was when Pansy was pouring drinks that Draco saw Hermione.

            'Wow…' he thought. 'I wonder who she is? I doubt I've seen _her_ before. Well, she's gorgeous.' He was contemplating asking her to dance when Pansy glided over to him with the drinks. She sneered in disgust when she saw Draco looking at the girl in the bright periwinkle robes.

            "Draco… what _are_ you doing?" she hissed. Draco faced Pansy, completely puzzled. 

            "What are you jabbering on about?" he asked. Pansy looked at him and shrieked,

            "That's the Mudblood Granger you're staring at!" Draco's jaw nearly hit the floor… and he found he couldn't say _one_ bad thing about her appearance. Her hair was sleek and shiny, up in an elegant knot. Her smile was a tad bit different; he couldn't place his finger on the difference…. Altogether, she looked… quite lovely.

                                                                        _End Flashback_

            Hermione turned around slowly and saw Draco staring at her. She quickly faced the front again, afraid to ask him why he kept looking at her. Though she was nervous, she was more curious as to the reason why. She cautiously turned around and grabbed the back of her chair. 

            "Malfoy," she exclaimed, pronouncing the word quite clearly. "Would you stop _staring_ at me? It's making me nervous." Draco sat up and smirked at her. "Don't you smirk at me, Ferret. What do you want?" His smirk left his face at the word "ferret". 

            "Oh, do shut up, Mudblood. Why the hell would I _want _to stare at you, anyhow? You're so ugly that I think I may regurgitate if my eyes linger on you for too long," he spat. Hermione was outraged. She stood up and raced to the back of the room. She raised her hand to slap him, but he grabbed her wrist. "Please. I just took a shower, see, and your filthy hands may dirty me up a bit." Tears raced to her eyes, and she wrenched her hand away from his tight grip.

            "You're disgusting," she whispered. She walked back to her desk and sat down, regaining her pride. "Breathe in, breathe out," she repeated to herself quietly. Feeling calmer, she opened her eyes, and Professor Vector walked in chatting with a couple of other students. Seeing his favorite student ready for class, he clapped his hands and walked over to her.

            "Ah, good morning, Hermione!" he cried exuberantly. "I trust you're ready for an invigorating hour of Arithmancy, no?" He winked at her, and it was all she could do to send him a shaky smile. 

                                                                        * * *

            And so ends Chapter 2. I didn't get _any_ reviews… ah, well. Please review!! I'd love to hear some feedback.


	3. The Event

                                                            Pure Happiness__

                                                                Chapter 3-

                                                                _The Event_

                                                                    * * * 

            Dinner that night was abuzz with excitement. Students from every house were gossiping about the upcoming event that Professor Dumbledore had planned for them all. The only house _not_ as excited as the rest was Slytherin. Except for the first years, who were naïve about the "Slytherin Code", everyone at that table looked bored to tears. They looked as if it was just any other dinner; that nothing major was about to occur. Their calm and collected appearance bugged everyone to _death_. Many students across the Hall glared at the Slytherin table, infuriated that they weren't as excited as they were. 

            Albeit he looked the most bored, Draco was secretly _dying_ to know what the surprise was. It had bugged him all day- throughout all of his classes, at lunch, outside…. He looked around at his housemates, utterly perplexed at their attitudes. Pansy had one elbow on the table, holding her head, and mixing some peas and mashed potatoes with her fork. Crabbe and Goyle, of course, had their heads down close to their plates, shoveling food into their mouths with the shortest distance possible. Theo Nott was scribbling away on a piece of parchment, and Blaise was busy snogging Millicent. 

            When dinner was finally over, Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat and walked around to the front of the teacher's table. He walked down the stone steps that led up there and down to the center of the four tables. When he reached the midpoint, he stopped and smiled gently at all of the students. The children were all puzzled as to why he was down there, seeing as he'd never done it before.

            "Good evening, everyone. Now that we are all fed and watered, it is time for me to discuss with you all about the upcoming event that is to take place at our school," he cried. "But because it regards only the seventh year students, I must ask all lowerclassmen to please retire to their dormitories for the night." After many groans were sounded out, table by table the younger children shuffled out the great oak doors. "If you all would rise, please," Professor Dumbledore asked.

            After the students did so, he then clapped twice and the tables folded themselves and flew to the sides. Then, Professor McGonagall conjured up a great deal of chairs for the students to sit in while listening to the Professor.

            All of the chairs were completely different… there was everything from hard wooden chairs to humongous squishy beanbag chairs. The students all took particular delight in finding a chair that "tickled their fancy". Once they had all settled in, Professor Dumbledore glided to the front of the crowd and opened up his arms.

            "Hello, everyone. I know _many_ of you are very excited to hear about the upcoming event. To start, many of our teachers here have acknowledged the fact that for seven years, there have _not_ been healthy inter-house relationships. The entire staff here- oh, alright, Severus- _most_ of our staff wishes to make these bonds much stronger.

            "Ergo, this year there is to be a big series of… well… _events_ of which a few of you and a partner from a different house shall compete in. You'll race against other students, of course, for the _prize_ at the end of the tournament. No, it's not exactly like the Triwizard Tournament, Mr. Zambini, but it is quite similar to it. Do any of you have any questions on the subject?"

            Immediately, Hermione's hand shot up. Chuckling softly to himself, Professor Dumbledore gestured for her to speak. "Professor, did you say that _only a few of us _will have partners from a _different_ house that we're not good friends with?" 

            "Ms. Granger, yes. That's exactly right. The students and their partners have already been selected, and if you are lucky, you shall find you and your partner's name on a note card in your dormitory," he replied. "Ah, yes… Ms. Brocklehurst." Mandy, a pretty blonde Ravenclaw with shabby robes, asked,

            "Professor, what _type_ of events are we to compete in? Are they physically strenuous, or what?" Professor Dumbledore scratched his head and thought for a moment.

            "Hmm… let me remember. You see, my memory's starting to fail me as I grow older," he replied. Mandy rolled her eyes, but Professor McGonagall stood up from her seat at the Teacher's table and answered the question.

            "There are all types, Ms. Brocklehurst. There shall be events that deal with logic, solving problems, and, of course, physical events," she stated quietly, in her ever strict voice. Many students nodded, and quite a few girls were getting quite giggly. "Is that all?"

            "No," came a voice that belonged to Pansy Parkinson. "Just how many events are there going to be total?" Professor Dumbledore seemed to have _regained_ his memory, because he jumped forward immediately.

            "Because there are only ten pairs of students competing, there will be ten events for them to compete in. But we can not have any more questions, seeing as it is getting quite late and you all have classes tomorrow. Have a wonderful evening, everyone!" 

            Everyone stood up and left the Great Hall. The giggly girls were jabbering on and on about which partner they'd like to have. A few of the girls wished that Cedric Diggory was alive and in their year so they'd definitely win. Some other students, like Harry, Ron, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan and Neville Longbottom, were discussing the events of which were to take place.

            "Bet they're going to have a boggart and see who's the bravest against their worst fear!" exclaimed Dean. Seamus shook his head. 

            "Nah," he replied. "They had that in fourth year, and they already know that we can do those _easy_ things!" As they went on and on, Neville looked more and more terrified. Anyone who looked close enough saw him begging Merlin that he'd not be chosen.

            Hermione, on the other hand, walked silently, staring at the stone floor. Because she wasn't watching where she was going, she bumped right into something big and heavy. THUMP! She was lying on the ground, rubbing her head.

            "I'm awfully sorry, I didn't see where I was- Malfoy?!" she exclaimed. Draco looked down with a look of horror. 

            "Ugh, Mudblood! Why weren't you watching where you were going?" he whined. "Now I have to go… go… _decontaminate_ myself! Yuck…!" Hermione rolled her eyes.

            "Nice try, Malfoy. But you've already used the so-called 'cleaning' joke today," she spat. His cheeks turned pink and he slouched away towards the dungeons. Hermione got up, brushed the dirt off of her uniform, and walked slowly to the Pink Lady.

            'I really hope I get to compete,' she thought. 'As long as I'm not with someone as _horrible_ as Malfoy.'

                                                            * * *

            Ahaha! She's upset…. Thanks to the following for reviewing:

-**RonFan**- Thanks _so_ much for reviewing! I know, the event thing was killing me! I couldn't think of anything. But hopefully this is alright. I'll talk to you on Easter! 

-**Time Warp**- J.K. Rowling? I don't think so. But thanks anyways! Review again soon, I loved getting yours!

-**Anonymous Miss**- Thanks for putting me on your faves list! I'm ever so flattered, LOL!

-**_Everyone else that reviewed_**- THANK YOU! I appreciate it so very much!

*I won't be able to post another chapter for a week, seeing as it's Spring Break and my family's going away for Easter!*


	4. Two Partners, One Huge Horror

                                                       Pure Happiness

                                                            Chapter 4-

                                           _Two Partners, One Huge Horror_

                                                            * * *

            Humiliated and tired, Hermione opened her dormitory door and slammed it shut. She leaned against the back of it, rubbing her temples. Merlin, how she _hated_ Draco Malfoy! He was a pompous and arrogant prick who loved to tease her just for the fun of it. Just the thought of him at the moment brought tears to Hermione's eyes, but she regained her composure and headed over to her bed. She took off her blouse and skirt, and laid them down neatly on her bed. It was then that she noticed a white parchment note card lying on her pillow. Heart racing, she picked it up and read the neat cursive writing.

            "Ahhhhhhh!" she screamed when she finished it. In a rush, she threw on her nightgown and raced down into the Common Room. Thankfully, it was empty except for a couple of first years who were studying. They looked clearly horrified at seeing the Head Girl in her sleepwear. They turned away quite quickly, and tried to resume working on their homework. Hermione took no notice of this, but raced up to the seventh year dormitories, and spotted Harry and Ron.

            "Oh Merlin, you two, look at this!" she shouted. Harry snatched the note card out of her hands and he and Ron read:

_Ms. Hermione Granger,_

_            You have been chosen to compete in the Hogwartian Tournament this year. Please report to the Transfiguration classroom tomorrow at __8 o'clock__ sharp. There, you will receive your instructions for the first event that is to take place. Your partner is:_

**Draco Malfoy**__

_                        Sincerely, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall._

            "Bloody hell, that's awful, Hermione," Ron exclaimed. Harry nodded fervently, and Dean came up behind Hermione. He poked her shoulder, and she whipped around, getting angrier by the moment.

            "_What_, Dean?" she yelled. He held up a Gryffindor robe, and she gave him a puzzled look. Ron came over, blushing, and said,

            "Er… Hermione… you're barely wearing anything." Hermione raced over and looked into the mirror above Harry's dresser. It was true- the one nighty she had grabbed was a sheer white gown that… well… revealed her underwear quite a bit. She screamed loudly, grabbed the Gryffindor robe, and rushed out of the room. 

            Dean had fallen on Neville's bed (which, unfortunately, Neville was sleeping in) laughing hysterically. Ron was blushing crimson, and Harry was cleaning his glasses.

            "Ha ha! Ron, I bet you _loved_ that!" Dean shrieked. 

            "Why would I?" said Ron hotly. "She's just my friend… nothing more." Harry grinned at him. 

            "Right, Ron. Sure…," he replied. Ron opened his mouth, shut it again, and wrenched his hanging shut. "Temper, temper!" Harry laughed.

                                                            * * *   

            The next morning during breakfast, Draco was in a sour mood. He'd received a notice the previous evening about the so-called _Hogwartian Tournament_. He was to compete (that had been a given), but his partner was Hermione _bloody_ Granger. Mudblood scum of the universe, as he so loved to call her. Draco put his hands on his ears and shut his eyes tightly. He'd thought that it had all been a bad dream until Dumbledore announced the partners earlier that morning. The sad part was that Pansy noticed that he wasn't eating anything, so she knew something was up.

            "Draco, what's the matter? You haven't touched your sausages, and I know those are your favorite…," she inquired. Draco shot her a nasty look.

            "Nothing's wrong, Pansy. Keep your nose out of my business," he spat. Pansy merely raised her eyebrows at him.

            "No need to get your knickers in a twist, Draco," she said calmly. "Are you still upset about having that wench as your partner?" Draco sighed and nodded sadly. "Well, you're being an idiot about it," Pansy stated. Draco was instantly in an uproar.

            "An idiot?_ An idiot?!_ I'm the one who has to put up with her... intellectual annoying-ness, and all that! Plus, she's a filthy Mudblood. If my father knew about this, he'd have canceled this whole thing immediately," Draco yelled. "I don't know _how_ you can think this is okay!" Pansy put her hand over his mouth.

            "_Shut up_!" she hissed. "Don't you see? This is our perfect opportunity to get revenge on those Gryffindorks. If they see we've done something to their _precious_ Head Girl, we'll get them all upset and then they'll come after us. _Then_, before they'll know it, we'll hit them with the brilliant plan Theo's come up with." Theo, who'd been sitting across from them, silent as a mouse, nodded.

            "It's great, Malfoy. The plan, I mean. And the angrier they are, the better. This is going to be the _best_!" he whispered.

            "So calm down, Draco. We know it's awful, but you've got to get a hold of yourself!" Pansy murmured. Draco sent them both looks saying 'You don't know what I'm going through', but they didn't notice. They were too happy about the "plan".

            'Still, wait 'til my father hears about this,' he thought. 'He'd set that old crackpot Dumbledore straight. In fact, I'll owl him as soon as I get out of Transfiguration today….'

                                                            * * *

Super short, I know. But I _gotta_ finish packing for our plane ride tomorrow. Happy break!


	5. Unwanted Truces

                                                              Pure Happiness

                                                                 Chapter 5-

_                                                            Unwanted Truces_

                                                                     * * *

            The next morning at breakfast, Dean and Seamus nudged each other when Hermione walked in. Ron noticed this, as he was sitting directly across from them. When Hermione sat down next to Ron, she tucked a strand of her frizzy hair behind one of her ears, and reached for a blueberry muffin in front of her. Seamus winked at Ron, and asked Hermione,

            "So… Hermione… how were things last night?" Hermione looked up at him, her mouth full of muffin. Her cheeks were turning a bit red, but nothing major. She rolled her eyes and reached into her bag for a copy of _Hogwarts, a History_. "No, really Hermione," Seamus kept on. "Dean and Ron and I had an _excellent_ time last night… we got to see a girl in her knickers! In fact, I believe you might have been there to see it…." Hermione swallowed and glared angrily at them.

            "I have no idea what you're on about," she squeaked. '_Oh, bloody hell!_' she thought. '_Why'd my voice suddenly get little girlish?_' She felt a bit nervous, but then she regained her composure and faced the three boys with confidence in herself. Dean opened his mouth to retort to her statement, but thought better of it when Hermione pulled out her wand. "You three… if you ever mention what happened last night… you'll be… hexed into oblivion," Hermione hissed. The three boys turned pale and nodded quickly. No one liked to see her angry- oftentimes it got ugly. Hermione then shoved her book and wand into her bag, grabbed another muffin, and stalked off to find her favorite corner in the library.

            "She's not even Irish and she's got the temper of one," Dean muttered. Seamus laughed and Ron scoffed. "You have to admit though… for someone like _her_, she does look quite nice and all that rot when she's in her undies…." 

                                                                        * * *

            Hermione sat in the dusty scarlet chair in the Potions section in the library. She was utterly horrified... she'd never cared about her appearance before- it was obvious, due to her awfully low-maintenance hair- but suddenly she was a lot more conscious of her body. Nobody'd ever come close to seeing it before the boys did last night- she'd always made it a point to wear big  t-shirts and floppy hats to beaches on holiday with her family. When she had gone to France, she'd been mortified when they'd gone to the beach and found all the women with their tops off. Even more when her mother tried to make her do the same as the French women who resembled sticks.

            Although she _did_ have to admit that the attention was somewhat flattering. For a bit she wondered what it'd be like to have a boyfriend again, one who'd hold her and kiss her and whisper sweet nothings in her ears…. '_No_,' she thought suddenly, reprimanding herself. '_I _really_ have to concentrate more on my studies… after all, it _is_ my N.E.W.T. year! And I really want to get into training at St. Mungo's, so I better get cracking on those books!_" With that, Hermione went over and retrieved many books, all entitled with something to do with the upcoming tests, and started to study some Transfiguration.

                                                                        * * *

            Draco rushed through the crowded hallways, eager to find a particular Mudblood. '_No_," he thought after using the nickname he so dearly loved.'_I have to start being- ugh- _nice_ to her now… for the Slytherin's sake and for my father_.' He scowled at the mere thought of her, and then spotted two-thirds of his least favorite people at Hogwarts- the Poor Weasel and Stuck-Up Potty.  He rubbed his temples, annoyed, and stalked after them.

            "Er… Potter…" he muttered, tapping Harry on the shoulder. Harry whipped around and stared at him. "Do you happen to know where the Mud- er… Granger is?" Harry looked him up and down, scowled himself.

            "Why on Earth would I tell you that, Malfoy?" he spat. "We don't want you going anywhere _near_ her!" Malfoy closed his eyes, and then started again.

            "If you didn't know, Potter, she's my partner for the upcoming tournament," Draco said slowly, as if talking to an uneducated three-year-old. "And it's not like I want to talk to her on my _own_ account. She's got to be the filthiest person I've ever laid eyes on!" Ron turned bright red. Even the tips of his ears were red, which was a warning sign of trouble brewing.

            "For that, Malfoy, we wont tell you where she is!" Ron said hotly. Both he and Harry drew their wands and pointed them at Draco's throat. "Back away now… _or else_," Ron said through clenched teeth now. Draco snorted quite unappealingly at him.

            "Or what, Weasley?" Draco scoffed. "You'll _hex_ me just like in second year? Because really, I'd _love_ to see _you_ retch up some more snails. Perhaps then you'd be able to sell them and buy yourself some decent robes!" Ron yelled out in fury, dropped his wand, and started for Draco's head. Draco was too quick for him, though, and he backed away and ran as fast as he could.

                                                                        * * *

            A couple minutes later, Draco stood behind a statue of Godric Gryffindor, wheezing from lack of breath. '_Damn Weasley_…' he thought. '_Now, if I was a know-it-all like her, where would I be?_' After a few seconds thought, he smacked his head. '_Duh…she'd be in the _library!'

            He rushed down to the near-empty library, and looked for a big bush of hair. After several minute's searching, he came across Hermione sitting in a scarlet chair, reading a thick textbook with her index fingers in her ears. Her eyes were skimming the pages so quickly that her eyes appeared blurred, and her mouth was forming the words she was reading faster than humanly possible. What Draco thought was _most_ remarkable was her ability to _retain_ the information and quote it back verbatim. It was one of the only things he admired and respected about her. Of course, he never let on about it, though. It was _secret_.

            He slouched up to her, and muttered, "Granger?" She didn't appear to hear him. He tried again, this time a bit louder. When she _still_ hadn't responded, he yelled quite loudly and flailed his arms all around, startling her quite a bit. 

            "My Lord, Malfoy…" she winced. "You didn't have to _shout_!" Draco rolled his eyes and pulled up a hard wooden chair. "What would you like?" Draco looked at her straight into her cinnamon eyes.

            "A truce, Granger," he lied through his teeth. "Since we are partners for this… tournament, I believe we'll be spending many hours together studying. And I want to _win_ this, Granger. More than you know. And since we _are_ the smartest students in the school, we have a huge chance at winning. If we could only work together civilly, we'd kick everyone else's arses. Think of the opportunities this will present for you!" Hermione was taken aback for a moment.

            "You're lying, Ferret," she hissed. "You want me to do all the work to make _you_ look good." He looked at her unblinkingly. Then he scowled.

            "No. I think this is a great opportunity to show our… er… skills," Draco said, nonchalantly. "If we won, we'd be hailed as the smartest students ever to attend this school! We'd go down in history." '_I'd go down in history_,' he thought. '_I'm going to make _you_ look horribly stupid!_' Hermione narrowed his eyes at him.

            "Are you serious? Or are you taking the mickey out of me?" she asked. "You must _swear_ to me that you won't stab me in the back." Draco raised one of his hands, and said,

            "Death Eater's honour!" When Hermione opened her mouth in horror, he laughed. "Only joking, er… Hermione. Of course I swear I won't 'stab you in the back'!" He extended his right hand to her. "Truce?" Hermione was hesitant, but finally grasped his hand in hers. She repeated to him, 

            "Truce." Draco smirked at her, and rushed out of the library, robes billowing behind him like his father and Professor Snape. '_I'm _such_ a good liar!_" he thought.

                                                            * * *

I'm _so_ sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was on holiday… ahaha. This chapter was really difficult, as I had to redo it like, three times. Oh! And a _very_ special thanks to **CaramelSweetness66**, one of my top three favourite authors on this site. Check out her two _amazing_ stories. REVIEW again! Everyone! 


	6. Granger's Got Guts

                                                   Pure Happiness

  
                                                      Chapter 6-  
                                                _Granger's Got Guts_  
  
                                                            * * *  
  
            Hermione left her secluded corner in the library feeling annoyed. Out of habit, she tugged her left earlobe firmly. She walked as quickly as she could to the Gryffindor common room, thinking about her awful partner the entire way. She was pretty upset about what had just happened; if Harry or Ron found out, she'd be done for.  
  
            '_I can't _believe_ I actually agreed to a truce_,' she thought angrily. '_Of course he's going to try something funny on me._' A part of her felt funny for a moment, and she then started to convince herself that he would be trustworthy. Of _course_ she didn't trust him now, but if they worked long enough together in peace, she might be able to trust him in the future.  
  
            When she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady clad in her normal pink ball gown, Hermione uttered the password and the door swung open. As she went to go greet Harry and Ron to get ready for class, someone hidden in the corner outside the common room was quickly jotting down the Gryffindor password.  
  
                                                            * * *  
  
            After a dull Herbology class and a less-than-stimulating History of Magic lesson, the seventh-year Slytherins made their way to the Great Hall for lunch. Draco brushed by Pansy, who shoved a crumpled piece of parchment into his pale hand. He stopped, looked at what she had given him, and gave her a confused look.  
  
            "Read it later," she hissed at him. Draco slowly nodded and turned around, walking to the dungeons. When he arrived at the marking of his common room, he rushed up to his dormitory, and flopped down on his emerald bed with silver sheets. He carefully uncrumpled the letter, and read,   
  
_Draco-  
  
            I heard that you made the truce with Granger (ugh) this morning. Good job- personally, I thought you might've been a bit chicken to do so. Anyways, I followed her after she left and found out the password. It's French- la loyauté prévaudra. Hmmph. It's just like a Gryffindor to have a lame password like that.  
  
            So that might come in handy. I know your father wants you to ruin her grades,  
so maybe you could go in one night and destroy her homework or something. Also, I know you can't get into the girl's dormitory, so if you need my help, just ask._

_-Pansy_  
  
            Draco was a bit surprised- Pansy was being quite civil to him. For a while, when they were dating, she'd been really clingy and girlish to him. Then, when they broke up, she was always bawling and calling him crude names. Draco guessed that she was finally over him, as she was talking nicely to him, and even offering to help him manipulate someone. Then again, she _was_ a Slytherin and loved to do those types of things.

  
            Draco folded the letter as neatly as he could, and set it behind his pillow for later use. He left for the Great Hall, and bumped into a small girl- a first year, he guessed- on the way.  
  
            "Watch where you're going," he snarled as she tried to apologize.  
  
            "I... I..." she said meekly. "I...  _Malfoy_??" Draco had already started walking off. At the sound of his name, he whipped around and saw Hermione sitting on the ground. '_Oh, no!_' he thought. '_Not _her_ again!_'  
  
            He tried to smile- he'd had very little practice in that area- and helped her up. "Sorry, Granger, I didn't know it was you," he sighed. Hermione rubbed her head.  
  
            "That's alright, I guess," she whispered. She started to walk away, and she seemed on the verge of tears. Draco felt pained and strange. He wasn't allowed to be mean to her anymore, he knew that, but the thing was, he didn't _want_ to be mean to her. Sure, he still hated her, and wanted nothing to do with her, but he wanted her to not be so pained by him any more.  
  
            "H-Hermione!" he called out, stuttering. It was still very new and weird for him to call one-third of his worst enemies by their first name. She stopped and turned to him, her face a bit blotchy. "I really am sorry," he said, trying to sound sincere. She seemed a bit taken aback, but responded,  
  
            "I said it was alright, Draco." Draco tried smiling again, but found his mouth twisted up horribly. Hermione giggled softly, and started to walk away. Draco grabbed her arm, looked at it in horror, and dropped it.  
  
"Er... Granger.... Have you heard about the first event yet?" he drawled. She nodded and stuck her nose in the air.  
  
"As a matter of fact, I did!" she said excitedly. "Professor Dumbledore explained it in the beginning of lunch to the competitors. It's to be secret until the event- which is on October 11th. It's supposed to see how well we compete under pressure..." Draco cut her off.  
  
"Didn't they do that in the Triwizard Tournament?" he sneered. She nodded vigorously, ignoring the rude sneer, and went on.  
  
            "Yes, but oh well. Perhaps they had nothing better to do for it. Anyway, he said it had to do with trouble _brewing_ and some other references to Potions," she gushed. "So let's meet tomorrow night in the Library and go over some of our Potions work."  
  
            "But the tournament isn't for a couple of weeks!" he protested. "We don't have   
to even _think_ about it until then!" Hermione was agitated.  
  
            "But,_ Malfoy_," she simpered. "You said it yourself- you wanted to win." She   
shrugged and went on. "But I guess I'll have to- _sigh_- do this all myself. At least _I'll_ be able to recognized for _my_ outstanding abilities." She smirked lazily at him- she looked like she'd done it a million times more than he had. Draco stared at her, open mouthed, as she walked away.  
  


Who knew Granger had guts?

  
                                                            * * *  
  
**Sorry to everyone who said it was short! **This one's pretty short, too. I promise that the next chapter will be nice and long- and interesting, for once. **THANKS!**

P.S. The password means **Loyalty shall prevail**. So Gryffindor, no?


	7. The Library Meeting

                                                                Pure Happiness

                                                                    Chapter 7-

                                                            _The Library Meeting_

            The following evening had Draco's nerves frazzled. He wanted _nothing_ to do with that… girl, and yet he had to spend a few hours with her that night. She was an annoying, stuck-up, beaver-faced Mudblood who knew exactly how to piss him off. The _only_ reason he was doing this civilly, and he told all of his fellow Slytherins this, was for two reasons. First, he had promised his father that he'd be the top student of the year, and second, he wanted to support the Slytherin decision to "get" all Gryffin_dork_s.

            Draco did the one thing he could think of… he went to go find Pansy. She'd know what to do. She was a female… and Draco had no idea what when through that… _species'_ minds. He rushed down the steps from his dormitory and into the common room. He darted to the other staircase, and yelled,

            "Pansy! _Pansy!_ I'd like a word with you!" He waited and saw a pug face sticking around the wall at the top of the staircase.

            "What?" Pansy hissed. "I'm busy!" Draco narrowed his eyes and motioned for her to come down. Pansy growled, but trudged down the wooden steps, clad in a pink fuzzy bathrobe and curlers. Draco, at the sight of her, snorted loudly, which evolved into a series of uncontrolled _giggles_. Pansy went red.

            "Merlin, Parkinson- _haha_- you're wear- _giggle_- pink­- _snort-_ fuzzy- _hahahahaha!_" Draco laughed. Pansy sneered at him.

            "Oh, do shut up, Malfoy," she spat. "I just got out of the shower and I had nothing to put on. Luckily, Millicent had a spare bathrobe her _grandmother_ got her when she was at her house on holiday." Pansy tugged at the tie holding it together angrily. "Now, what the _bloody hell_ do you want?" Draco shut up, remembering his problem.

            "Ah… yes," he sighed. "Pansy, I need your help." Pansy narrowed her eyes. She strutted over to one of the emerald armchairs and sunk down in one.

            "Girl troubles?" she smirked. "Didn't think you'd come to your _ex-girlfriend_ for help like that!" Draco's cheeks tinged pink.

            "Don't be daft, Parkinson," he sneered. "Tonight's the meeting with Granger, and I don't know _what_ to do!"

            "It's simple, Malfoy," she stated, still smirking. "All you have to do is…."

            Hermione sat at a hard wooden table in the library. She was surrounded by a great number of thick, dusty volumes dealing with Potions. A stack of parchment was to her left, accompanied with four quills and two bottles of ink. Her face was set in a smug expression, showing that she was content and waiting for the Ferret- no, Malfoy to show up.

            In all, Hermione was prepared. She didn't want to waste any time having a row with Malfoy. When Harry had been in the Triwizard Tournament, she'd been immensely jealous. All of the events were _so_ interesting to her, and she had been quite angry at Harry for not being prepared properly. He had beaten everyone by a hair, but Hermione wanted to _crush_ the other opponents.

            While she was thinking about the situation, she heard a _thunk!_ across from her. She focused her eyes, and looked at Draco Malfoy slumping in his seat across from her. She grimaced at the sight of him, while he merely yawned.

            "Cor, Granger," he said, putting his feet on the table, mud splattering on the clean parchment. "It looks as if you're ready to start an all-night study session!"

            "Hmm," Hermione murmured. "That sounds like a good idea! We'd be, then, _super_-prepared for the first event!" Draco sat up straight, bringing his feet down to the floor with a thud. He narrowed his eyes knowing that she was dead serious.

            "Don't get any ideas, Granger," he whispered dangerously. Hermione sighed, and picked up a novel from the top of the stack.

            "Let's get working," she said. "Just take notes on anything you find interesting or useful."

            "Fantastic," he mumbled sarcastically. He grabbed one of the Potions books out of the middle of a particularly large stack, and then books went toppling down on Hermione. She grunted when they hit her, and completely ruined the note she had been copying down. She looked up at her partner, who merely smirked at her.

            "Nice," she murmured. She shoved the books back onto the table, and grabbed some new parchment. She started to copy a quote on Wolfsbane Potion. Draco watched her write slowly and steadily, her small cursive writing flowing across the page. For a while, he was entranced, sitting watching her write, until she stopped and turned back to the textbook. Then, he watched her face. She had the same expression as the other night, yet sometimes she bit her lip in frustration.

            '_She actually looks quite nice when she does that_,' Draco thought. A look of horror suddenly spread across his face. '_Blast! If father_ ever _finds out I thought that, I'll be completely shut off from the sweets mother sends!_' he thought frantically. He ran a hand over his gelled hair, and immediately started reading his own textbook.

            But every time he started a new paragraph, he took a glance at the studious girl sitting across from him. And it wasn't just to distract her from her work.

            Hermione wasn't oblivious. She felt his stares, but never acknowledged them. She was too shy to do something like that, and she knew it. But it was getting _quite_ uncomfortable, so she finished some un-needed notes on the Polyjuice Potion, and set the book down. She grabbed a couple of large textbooks, and trotted away from the table. Once she was out of earshot and sight, she dropped them and sighed angrily.

            '_Why on _earth_ is he doing that?_' she thought. '_It's so annoying! I'll never be able to finish _at least_ five feet on the _Elementary Potions for Mediwizards_ if he doesn't quit it._' At once many thoughts flew into her head- '_Should I say something_?' was the main thought. But when that was "voiced", she shook her head fearfully, knowing she'd never have the courage to do something like that.

            She growled at a nearby Transfiguration book and hit it as hard as she could. Of course, with her strength, all it did was move backwards a bit and hurt her hand. She snatched her wand out of her robes and muttered the levitation spell on the books. After every book was put away, she returned to the table where Malfoy was sitting. She coughed, and he looked up at her.

            "Er…" she started. "Don't you think we'd better call it a night? I mean, I've got loads of notes down and a basic idea concerning many potions. It's not like we _won't_ be prepared, but…" She stopped herself. She'd started rambling on again. '_Oh, bugger_,' she thought. Draco slammed his book shut.

            "Fine," he muttered, stretching his arms. "It's not like _I_ need any more help. I'm Snape's favorite student, and I already get extra lessons in Potions. Of course, that option's not open to people like… _you_." Hermione opened her mouth in horror.

            "How dare you!" she hissed. "We made a _truce_." She stepped up to him, her notes crumpling in her fists. "You can _not_ call me a… a… Mudblood. It's unheard of in civil conversations…." She kept droning on, and on, and Draco was getting worried about what he had to do.

            '_Damn Pansy_,' he thought. '_I simply can _not_ do this!' _ When he found out what Pansy had told him to do, he had thrown what girls liked to call a "hissy fit". It was ludicrous, he had said. But she convinced him that it worked every time. '_Here I go_!' he thought frantically.

            "… honestly, I mean, stupid Slytherins…" Hermione was being bitter, he knew, but he went in for the plunge. He laid his lips on her own, and- to his utter surprise- she didn't fight back. She melted into the kiss, which was sweet and innocent, their mouths closed. Gently he held her back, and her arm dropped. He quickly grabbed the papers out of her hands, and she didn't even notice.

            He broke the kiss, grabbed his bag, and left swiftly out of the library, leaving Hermione hanging onto what had just occurred for the first time in her life.

            Hermione, a bit shaken, closed her eyes, and remembered what had just happened. At the moment, it had been pure bliss, seeing as it _was_ her first kiss. But then, a wave of anger washed over her.

            "_Blast, blast, blast!_' she thought angrily, stamping her foot on the ground. "_How could I let my hormones take over me like that? I wasted my first kiss on someone completely rude!_' She ran her fingers through her frizzy hair, then through her hands up in the air. Grumbling, she turned back to the table, and grabbed her bag. She stuffed her papers, quills, and ink into her bag, and raced back to the Gryffindor common room.

            When she ran in, she spotted Harry and Ron sitting in front of the fireplace, playing what looked like a particularly violent game of Wizard's Chess. Just as Ron's queen was smashing one of Harry's pawns into smithereens, she slid down next to them on the floor.

            "Hey, Hermione," Harry said, his eyes focused on the game. "How was the study session with the Ferret?" Hermione growled at his name, and snatched her bag off of the couch, where she had dropped it. Just as she was taking her notes out of the bag, Crookshanks laid down on her lap, curling up like a giant ball of fluff.

            "I got plenty of notes done," she remarked. "But I didn't finish the notes on Elem- _oh no!_"

            "What is it, Hermione?" Ron asked, shoving a piece of fudge that was laying nearby into his mouth. His eyes never left the board, just like Harry. They were barely paying attention to Hermione.

            "Oh, cor! No, no, NO!" she screamed. "How could I have been so _stupid_?" She dove into her bag, throwing out books and papers. Ron glanced at her.

            "What's wrong? Did you lose something? Like you're first paper with a nine out of ten?" he laughed. Hermione looked at him with narrowed eyes.

            "Oh, shut up, you!" she snapped, clearly distraught. Harry hit Ron's shoulder, mumbling something about how stupid that remark was.

            "_What's wrong, Hermione_?" Harry nearly yelled. But she completely ignored him.

            "It's not here!" she wailed. "And how _thick_ could I be?" She turned to them, showing them multiple pieces of parchment that were completely blank. "I'm such an idiot! Malfoy… he… he… oh, Harry! Ron!" She threw her arms around them both, who awkwardly patted her on the back. She stood up, grabbed her bag, and ran up to her dormitory, bawling the whole way.

            "Poor Hermione," Harry said, shaking his head. "I bet it was just girl problems." Ron nodded in agreement.

            "Mental, that one," Ron said, while folding up the chess board. "I'm telling you…."

            How was it? I know I completely botched up the ending by using that quote. But I think it's really cute. Review! And if it's not long enough… then too bad. This is as good as it's gonna get, people. Ha ha!


	8. Breakfast in the Great Hall

                                                            Pure Happiness

                                                               Chapter 8-

                                                   _Breakfast in the Great Hall_

                                                                   * * *

            "You mean to say that stupid plan actually_ worked_?" shrieked Pansy Parkinson, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the Slytherin fire. She giggled so hard that her glossy blonde curls shook across her shoulders. Draco smirked at her.

            "You're a genius, Pans!" he laughed. "She was so bloody flustered that she didn't even realize that I had taken her whole set of notes!" The other Slytherins roared with laughter. Draco mimicked Hermione by slapping the back of his hand to his forehead and sighing, "_Oh, Draco! You are such a _wonderful_ kisser_!" This caused everyone to laugh again, and Draco seemed to wipe tears of joy from his eyes.

            "So," sneered Blaise, grabbing the pages of Hermione's notes. "What do you say we do with these?" He held it over toward the fireplace and smiled wickedly. "Burn it?"  Pansy laughed, but snatched them out of Blaise's hand. 

            "No," she cackled, sounding _very_ much like a fairy-tale witch. "Let's…." And together they whispered their ideas. Once everyone was satisfied with the result, several third years grabbed a couple of quills and black ink, and handed them over to Draco.

            "Shall I have the honour of… ah… tattooing the first one?" he grinned. Pansy nodded vigorously, and together all of the Slytherins started to _destroy_ Hermione's hard work, only to embarrass her with it the next morning at breakfast.

                                                            * * *

            Hermione grabbed a shiny red apple from one of the wicker baskets in the middle of the Gryffindor table. She rubbed it on her robes, and then took a big bite out of it. Crunching loudly, Harry and Ron plopped down on either side of her. They all started eating, with Hermione the loudest, and started to stand up to leave.

            "You never _do_ keep quiet, do you?" they heard a sneering voice behind them. Hermione whipped around, recognizing that horrible voice.

            "What now, Malfoy?" she demanded. He pouted a little, and stuck out the notes to her. Her eyes widened happily and she made to grab them. However, he held them back, out of her reach.

            "You dropped these last night, and I thought I ought to return them to you," he stated as innocently as he could, without gagging. He handed them over tentatively to her, and she took them cautiously.

            "Thanks… er… Mal- _oh, my God!_" she screamed. She rifled through thestack of parchment, glaring at him all the while. She shoved the papers at Harry and Ron, who'd been standing faithfully next to her the whole time. They ducked, and she started shrieking, "You… you… you!" Draco inspected his fingernails, bored.

            "I must say, Granger," he smirked. "I never knew you had such… _strong_ feelings for me!" Hermione screamed in anger, her face blotching and blushing crimson, and started toward him. Harry and Ron instantly grabbed her arms, but she pulled and tugged and snarled at all three of them, absolutely _killing_ to get her hands on her enemy. 

            "You _ferret_!" she screamed. "I didn't… you must've… you _absolute wanker_!" Bawling, she tore away from Harry and Ron with all her force, and started to run away. That is, of course, until she collided into a periwinkle 'wall' with silver stars. She grabbed onto it, shaking, until she heard a small cough.

            "Hmm… Ms. Granger," she heard a soft, raspy voice. "What _is_ going on around here?" She looked up into Professor Dumbledore's usually-twinkling eyes. She let out a small shriek, and jumped backwards.

            "Oh! Professor Dumbledore!" she gasped, looking around. "And Professor McGonagall! And _Snape?_" She was horrified. "I'm _ever_ so sorry about all this! I mean, it wasn't my fault or anything but he… I mean… I didn't do…" 

            "What," drawled Professor Snape, cutting her off, "is going on here?" Hermione started to blush and instantly looked down at her shoes. Draco, smirking yet again, stepped forward.

            "Why, nothing, Professor," he said, still with the same innocence. "I was simply returning _Hermione_'s notes she left in the library last night." Professor McGonagall clicked her tongue and sniffed in distaste.

            "That's the reason Ms. Granger here was having a hysterical fit?" she asked, not believing him. Draco shook his head, trying to smile, which was _quite_ unusual for him.

            "No, no, no, no, Professor!" Draco answered. "I was merely… well, astounded to find that Hermione here… well… why don't you all look at this…." He handed each of teachers a sheet of parchment, and while their jaws dropped, Draco gathered the rest of the papers and quickly flung some to the other tables. Everyone was reading them, sniggering and pointing at the words.

            "_Draco Malfoy is the absolute _hottest_ man to ever walk this earth!_" Professor Dumbledore read out loud. He looked at the mortified Hermione over the top of his glasses. Before he could speak again, Professor McGonagall read, with shaking hands, a quote from the next page.

            "_If only Ron and Harry looked like Draco… he's so darn cute that I'd do him any day!_" she said uneasily. "_Hermione and Draco forever!" _ProfessorMcGonagall looked away, turning a tad bit white. Finally, she closed her eyes and was able to let out, "_Mrs. Draco Malfoy… Mrs. Hermione Malfoy… Dr. Hermione Granger Malfoy, wife of the famous _'amazing-in-bed' _Draco Malfoy!_" 

            Everyone across the hall exploded with laughter. Professor McGonagall threw down the paper and her hands up in the air. But, before she _or_ Professor Dumbledore could go on, Snape read, with utter distate,

            "_Just those buns on him could drive a girl insane. Boy, if I could get my hands on them long enough to squeeze them, I'd be the happiest- and _horniest_- girl alive!_" The hall went silent. Everyone looked at Hermione, and then absolutely laughed _harder_ than they had before. 

            "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ALL THIS?" all three teachers shouted at once. Hermione looked up at them, crying, and raced out of the hall. Professor McGonagall started after her, but Dumbledore raised a hand to stop her. 

            "Don't, Minerva," he said sadly. "I think she may need a bit of alone time right now." Sighing, they all headed up to the teacher's table, where Professors Sprout and Flitwick were hastily shoving some parchment underneath their napkins.

                                                            * * *

            Hermione flung herself onto her scarlet duvet. Sobbing, she pummeled her pillow with her fists, imagining Draco's face was really there. She continued this for quite a while, until Ginny Weasley came into her room. 

            "Hermione?" she asked meekly. "May I come in?" When Hermione waved her away, Ginny grimaced, stepped inside, and slammed the door behind her.

            "I thought I told you to go _away_!" wailed Hermione. Ginny walked over to her, sat down on the bed, and started to stroke Hermione's big bushy hair.

            "Hermione Jane Granger," she started. "Don't take that tone with me! Are you upset about what happened outside?" Hermione shot her a look. 

            "_No_," she said sarcastically. "I thought that was a jolly good time. Of _course_ I'm upset about what happened! How on _Earth_ could he… he…" She broke off, crying hysterically. Ginny rubbed her temples.

            "You mean you _didn't _write those notes?" she asked tentatively. Hermione wailed even louder. "I guess that's a no…." Hermione sat up, wiped her tears away, and said,

            "Oh, Ginny! It was awful…. I… I… I never wrote that! He must've changed it… _that's it!_" Ginny looked up at Hermione sharply.

            "What? What happened? Tell me now!" she demanded. Hermione grabbed a pillow and started to bash it on her head.

            "_So_… stupid! How… could… I… have… been… so… stupid?" she moaned. "Ginny! Quit hitting me… I'll tell you!" Ginny grinned lazily at Hermione, and cleared her throat for her to begin.

            "Okay. Well, last night I had had gone to the library to start preparing for the first event- and _no_, I won't tell you what it is. Towards the end of the night, Malfoy and I had a bit of a row, and he came over and kissed me," Hermione started. "Ginny, stop gagging… it's _so_ unbecoming. Anyway, afterwards I noticed my notes were gone… he must have taken them and written those horrible things!"

            "Oh, Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed. "I know it's awful being humiliated in front of the whole school, but don't let it get to you. Malfoy, the prick, will know he's won."

            Hermione looked up into Ginny's sparkling green eyes. She sniffled a bit, before giving Ginny a big hug.

            "You're right," she laughed. "I'll think nothing of it. But you have to promise me that you and Ron and Harry'll help me get him back." Ginny grinned.

            "That sounds fantastic."

                                                            * * *

Chapter of pure crap, I know. But I tried to make it longer. And Hermione's middle name is Jane… I read it in an interview with J.K. Rowling. And I know Ron and Ginny's too. Just ask if you want them.


	9. The Following Evening

Pure Happiness

Chapter 9-

_The Following Week_

Hermione was ready to show her face again by dinner. It had been a _real_ first for her, missing a whole day of classes. She'd started walking to Charms, but she simply had to turn around and race back to her dormitory. She felt she couldn't go out and take the mocking just yet- it was too horrible. She was very impressed with Harry's ability to ignore the whispers he'd gotten whenever there'd been a rumour about him.

Harry and Ron had brought her all of her homework, and even got Ginny to come and convince her to go to dinner. When Hermione emerged from her dormitory, she saw Harry and Ron waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, in a deep conversation. Although she was feeling supersensitive and wary, Hermione had managed to pull herself together and join her friends in the Great Hall for dinner. Ginny walked down with her, with a grim expression across her freckled face. They were silent mostly, except for an occasional sniffle from Hermione. They blatantly ignored the whispering students they passed on their trip. But every time they heard a remark, Hermione would let out the smallest of whimpers.   
  
When they arrived in the Great Hall, they boldly walked to their seats. The Hall was a bit hushed, but when they touched the wooden benches there was a buzz of giggles and laughter. Harry and Ron stood up when she got there, rushing to comfort her.  
  
"You guys," she half-laughed. "I'm fine, really. I was upset, of course. Malfoy can be such an idiot sometimes, you know?"  
  
"Yeah," Ron laughed bitterly. "But he thinks he's so funny. Look at that prat over there, taking the mickey out of all the Gryffindors."   
  
"But, Ron," Harry put in. "It was simply hilarious when he was turned into a ferret. Remember that?" They all laughed and Ron punched Hermione's arm slightly.  
  
"But Hermione here ruined it for me," he said. "She was standing up for him, almost. What was with that? Did you… er… fancy him a bit?" Harry pretended to gag.  
  
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. "How could you think that? He's disgusting. You know I hate him as much as you do. Sure, he makes fun of you and Harry, but I mean, I get it bad, too. He's always calling me a…"  
  
"Mudblood!" a voice came from behind them. Hermione groaned loudly and said,  
  
"What now, Malfoy?" Harry and Ron, who were sitting across from Hermione, saw him smirk. Ron clenched his fists under the table.  
  
"Well, you know how tomorrow night we have our study session?" he drawled. Hermione nodded curtly. "I think we should cancel it. Seeing as you are in love with me for some irritating reason, you won't be able to study. See, you'll only be staring at my stunning good looks from across the table, which will only lead to more notes like you wrote last night."  
  
Hermione jumped up and spun around to face him. "You," she snarled. "Are a despicable, egotistical, urbane prat! I hate you! How could you even think I'd… I'd… argh!" The hall had gone silent. Hermione jumped on him, hitting and smacking every single part of him she could touch. Several Gryffindors and students from other houses surrounded them, laughing and cheering her on. The Slytherins tried to jump in and attack Hermione, but her housemates took care of them.  
  
And so started the great fight in the Great Hall. Teachers were shrieking and pulling students off of each other, but that did no good whatsoever. Of course, no one had thought to use magic, but that was for the best, really. Finally, when someone came to their senses, there was a loud boom, and red fireworks shot into the air.  
  
"Silence!" Professor Dumbledore boomed. He himself had managed to be impregnable during the whole ordeal. He drew breath, and the students expected him to scold them all in a long tirade. However, he calmly stated, "If Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger would please meet me in my office, please, I'd greatly appreciate it." He nodded curtly at the other teachers, who drew their wands and shot cleaning spells at the students.

Over by the Hufflepuff table, Harry and Ron looked at each other. Ron leaned in to Harry and whispered,

"What a week Hermione's having, eh?" Harry took off his glasses and rubbed them on his scarlet tie. He inspected them shortly thereafter, satisfied with their cleanliness.

"Well, Ron," he sighed. "Hermione's not used to… all this. Don't you think we should have a talk with her? Afterwards?" Ron looked sheepishly at the ground.

"Ah… I suppose I shouldn't tease her then," he muttered. Harry laughed merrily.

"No, Ron. That wouldn't be such a great idea…" he responded. And with that, the two set off to Professor McGonagall to help her with the cleaning.

O.o.O

Hermione walked stiffly behind Professor Dumbledore, trying her best not to glance over at Draco, who was trudging alongside her. She was close to tears. It wasn't _like_ her to lose her self control like that.

'_What an absolute nightmare_,' she thought miserably. '_I'm better than that. I was brought up _properly_. What on earth is Professor Dumbledore going to do?'_

When Professor Dumbledore stopped outside an empty classroom, Hermione looked down at the filthy stone floor, her heart racing faster than it had ever done in her life. When the door was opened, all three of them filed into the room right after one another. Hermione sat down in one of the desks in the front row, with Draco right next to her.

Professor Dumbledore stood in front of both of them, disappointment etched in his bright blue eyes. He coughed softly, and peered at them over his half moon eyeglasses.

"We need to talk," he stated softly. Draco sneered at the headmaster, and Hermione kept her eyes on her black school shoes. The professor reached into his periwinkle robes and withdrew a Muggle sweet- a lemon drop. After popping it into his mouth, he closed his eyes and sighed.

"Obviously this isn't working out. I would have thought much higher than both of you to… _ah_… try to tear each other's throats out. As Head Boy and Head Girl, I thought that both of you would have known much better than that.

"Now, in normal circumstances you both would have already been stripped of your badges and positions…" Hermione's head snapped up, her eyes wide with horror.

"But sir!" she exclaimed. Dumbledore raised a hand to quiet her, and continued on. Draco looked over at Hermione and smirked.

"As I was saying, you both _would_ _have _your badges revoked. But seeing as you two are the top students in the school and personal favorites…" he glanced at Hermione, "I'll give you each one more chance," the Headmaster told them. Hermione was instantly at ease, sinking back into her hard, wooden chair, rubbing her temples. After a moment, she sat forward again.

"Professor," she started. "As much as I appreciate your generosity regarding our privileges, I must inquire as to how you expect us to get along for the rest of the year! We're not exactly the best of friends, see…" Draco, although not really willing to, nodded in agreement.

"Ms. Granger, I am well aware of the relationship between you and Mr. Malfoy. However, I feel that you two are over exaggerating a bit. You two _don't_ see each other _that_ often, you know. And it would help, Mr. Malfoy, if you would cease teasing Ms. Granger starting now," Professor Dumbledore smiled. His eyes were back to their merry state, and Draco looked away quickly, his cheeks tingeing pink.

The Headmaster walked over to the door and opened it. He fixed his starry wizards hat, and turned to the two enemies.

"I expect both of you to return to your common rooms immediately. Good night, students," he said. They both bid him a "good night" full of grumbles, and as soon as the door clicked shut, Draco jumped up straightaway. He walked to the front of Hermione's desk and grabbed it roughly.

"Just because you have the old coot on your side doesn't mean that we're going to improve our… _relationship_," Draco scowled. "So don't get smug about the fact that I no longer can… make fun of you." He turned around and left, without forgetting to slam the door.

Hermione slumped in her seat. This had to have been the longest day she'd _ever _had.

O.o.O

**I am SO sorry** for not updating sooner. I just got _so_ caught up with end of the year exams and such that I completely forgot about this story.

For all that asked, the two youngest Weasley children's full names are: **Ginerva**** Molly Weasley **and **Ronald Billius Weasley**. I don't remember if there were two Ls in Billius. Ahh well. There you go.

Special thanks to reviewer **Jarie1019** for her wicked review. REVIEW EVERYONE! Thanks.


	10. Vengeance is Sweet

**                                                                        Pure Happiness**

                                                                        Chapter 10-

_                                                                        Vengeance is Sweet_

* * *

In the middle of the night, Hermione crept down into the common room quietly, still in her night clothes and clutching a thick wad of parchment. She walked over to the small desk in the corner, grabbed a small candle, and hoarsely whispered a quick spell to light it. Once the room was gently lit, she tiptoed back upstairs into the boy's dormitories and searched for Harry. Once she found him, she prodded him awake.

            "'S' matter?" he croaked. Hermione clamped her hand over his mouth.

            "Harry, do be quiet, it's only me!" Harry snatched his glasses off his bedside table and put them on. Instantly his face showed relief.

            "Cor, Hermione… it's only you," he murmured. "What do you want this late at night?" Hermione sat on his bed and hissed as quietly as she could that she wanted his invisibility cloak. "What for?" Harry inquired.

            "I want to go down into the library to study," she said earnestly. "I've got to study for the upcoming event. I don't want to be unprepared!" Harry groaned, but got up and fished for the silky cloak out of his trunk. As he handed it to Hermione, she squealed and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks so much, Harry, I don't know what I could have done without you!" She turned around and raced out of the dormitory.

            As Harry crawled back in bed, he heard a voice across from him. "Oh, Harry! You're so _wonderful_, Harry! Oh, my!" After a few snickers, Harry rolled over and said,

            "Oh, shut up, Dean."

* * *

            Once downstairs, Hermione blew the candle out and escaped through the portrait hall as quietly as she could. However, as soon as the portrait gently clicked back into its proper place, a loud snore turned abruptly into a strangled sort of yell. Terrified, Hermione frantically put on the cloak.

            "Who's there?" demanded the old man in the portrait. "Show yourself! No one is allowed out into the hallways this late at night!" Hermione quietly snuck away, feeling a tad guilty about breaking the rules. She was normally so much better behaved. Quickly, she shook the feeling away. She had a job to do.

* * *

            She entered the dusty old library as quietly as she could. Walking over to the wooden study tables, she was a bit startled when she saw an already lit lantern sitting on one of them. She cautiously set her notes down that table and grabbed a quill with a small inkpot. After finding and opening a thick volume about healing potions, she started to scratch away on her parchment, eager to jot down as much information as she could without getting caught.

            However, she stopped abruptly when she heard footsteps behind her. She slammed her book shut as fast as she could, and grabbed all her notes. Thank Merlin she had remembered to keep the invisibility cloak on. She crept into a small corner by the wall, and waited to see what was coming.

            When the dark figure came into her view, she positively seethed with anger. The person sat down and dropped a bunch of books onto the countertop. When he brought out his own parchment and started writing, Hermione ripped the cloak off and raced over to him.

            "Draco Malfoy!" she yelled. Draco jumped about a foot into the air. When he looked up, he saw a very red Hermione Granger.

            "Damn it, Granger. Don't you ever scare me like that again!" he wheezed.

            "Oh, do shut up Malfoy. What the _bloody hell are you doing here?_" she whispered violently. He smirked at her, and she clenched her hands in fists of rage.

            "I could ask you the same thing, _Mudblood_!" Hermione laughed in a defeated sort of way. Sighing, she asked him a question that quite surprised him.

            "Is that all, Malfoy? Is that really _all_ you've got? Because honestly, it's not very good material for insults. It's old, Ferret. _Old_. You've used that same cheeky expression every time you see me, and look now! It has no effect on me whatsoever," she shot at him. "You're washed up, Malfoy. Do you notice now how the school doesn't cringe with fear every single bloody time you walk in the hallways? No. They _don't_. And it's because you've insulted just about everyone there is so many times that they don't take you seriously anymore. Even Harry doesn't bother hardly as much. So good night, Mr. Malfoy. And I really, honestly hope the bed bugs _do_ bite you tonight."

            With that, Hermione turned around swiftly, and left Draco in the library with his very confused thoughts.

* * *

            The next morning at breakfast, Hermione turned up with little purple bags under her eyes, but she was cheerful nonetheless. She was so delightful to be around that particular morning, that Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown even offered her to sit with them and discuss the upcoming Divination lesson. Hermione politely declined, pointing out that she was no longer a student in that particular class.

            That morning's first lesson went by quickly. Hermione was attentive as ever in her least favourite class, Herbology, but still was earnest to learn as much as she could. Afterwards at lunch, Hermione was as fun and easygoing as at breakfast, but her great mood plummeted down at an alarming speed at their next class- Double Potions with the Slytherins.

            Hermione, Ron, and Harry walked in, ignoring the taunting Slytherins pointing and guffawing at the Gryffindors as usual. They sat at a table somewhat near the front, and brought out their parchment and quills. The rest of the class slowly filed in, chatting merrily and laughing gaily. That is, until Draco Malfoy and his friends strolled in. They were in such bad moods that everyone quieted down and sat in their seats quickly.

            Draco looked a mess. He hadn't bothered to plaster his hair down with gel that morning, and his eyes looked so sunk into his head that it seemed he hadn't slept all night. He growled angrily whenever a student was in his way, and simply pushed them roughly to the side. He slammed his book bag roughly down on one of the back tables, with Crabbe and Goyle on either side. Professor Snape hadn't arrived yet, and the students were sure that he'd do nothing to calm Draco out of his foul mood.

            The only students who hadn't quieted down were Hermione, Ron, and Harry. Harry was talking animatedly to Ron and Hermione, and every now and then, Hermione would let out a peal of infectious laughter. Draco sat in the back, glaring at their backs so fiercely that if possible, he would have bore holes into them with his eyes. Finally, after his splitting headache reached an ultimate high, he viciously stood up and raced to the front of the classroom.

            "If you bloody heroes wouldn't effing mind, I'd appreciate it _immensely _if you'd _shut the goddamn hell up_!" said Draco in a dangerous voice. Harry and Ron looked up at Draco, looking a bit timid. Hermione, however, looked at the boys beside her, and said in a sweet and innocent tone,

            "What's wrong, boys? Did you hear somebody? Is Professor Snape coming in?" Draco snarled at her and thrust his arm forward to strike her. However, Hermione had caught his fist in her hand. Slowly, she stood up and said in a low voice, "You know, Draco, you're really starting to _piss me off_."

            Several students gasped. They'd never seen Hermione- or Draco, rather- like this. It was so bad, so wrong, so… _entertaining_. Hermione stared Draco down, her cinnamon eyes dancing. Draco narrowed his eyes at her, breathing heavily and loudly. This went on for a good minute, until Hermione took her other hand and smacked Draco as hard as she could possibly muster on his cheek.

            "Stay the _hell_ away from me and my friends, you despicable excuse for a wizard." She sat down promptly in her seat while Draco howled with pain. She looked nonchalant and acted as if nothing had happened. As Draco was whimpering and walking back to his seat, Professor Snape walked in, looking very annoyed.

            "Settle down, settle down! Mr. Malfoy, go back to your seat at once," he said. "Now, please take out your cauldrons. We're going to be studying healing potions today, and I want all of you to _pay attention_!"

            Hermione couldn't have been happier.

* * *

**A/N: **OOH! If I may say so, that was an excellent chapter. I really wanted to write more, but I felt that the chapter would be best if left there.

**Special **thanks to **youngwriter56 **and **ILUVRONWEASELY**! You both made me feel oh-so-special. And I'm glad that youngwriter thinks that I made Draco especially evil!


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